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It has come to be that American government is of the lizards, by the lizards, and for the lizards. Tonight, there will be a fakey, staged "debate" between Barack Obama and John McCain, both of whom are running to be the Lizard-in-Chief. I wonder if I should wish good luck to them. "May the best lizard win!" As usual, on Election Day in November, Americans will try to vote for "the lesser of two lizards." Well, America, I have come to the end of my sympathy. If America once again elects the lesser of two lizards, then there should be no complaining; no outrage; and no dismay in the next presidential term.
Americans cannot look at me and ask, "Hey - who put these lizards in charge?" --if, in fact, it was my fellow Americans - you - who elected the Lizard-in-Chief. Perhaps I should offer my apologies for disparaging a fine species of reptiles. They don't deserve to be tarnished with brush strokes that conflate American politicians into their ranks.
There is a fakey, manufactured economic crisis that has been overplayed by politicians and talking heads, who have been boggling as if the sky is falling - and, they have used the fear of the crisis to ram through Congress a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street's guilty - basically a mugging for America's taxpayers which contravened the principles of free markets and private enterprise. Barack Obama and John McCain both voted for this bailout and thereby became two muggers. We can say they revealed themselves to be lizards.
Obama and McCain should be going to jail, not the White House! And further, the American people still have 20 days left to figure this out; to forward this text; and to catch on in time to change the outcome of the election. They should do so. They should follow this line of reasoning. They should reclaim America's future. Let's remember that actual Americans were against the bailout by a margin of 200-to-1. It means, they agree and if you forward this text as an email, they may thank you. (Try it!)
I don't mind exerting a bit of influence that's like leadership on the side of the American people (not lizards). When I was the 18 year old candidate for U.S. President (1984), bumper stickers said, "People Are Important," and I emphasized that the budget must be balanced and taxes must be fair - two of the planks in my "politics of practical idealism." I am now writing to you from the age of 42, and I've added knowledge and experience since 1984, but I'll stand by the politics of practical idealism.
At the age of 18 I wasn't wrong, and I learned a lot about the politician's game. I know how these lizards think. "Trickle down economics" was objectionable when Reagan first extolled it, and I rose to be the youngest-ever political opponent of Ronald Reagan. Trickle-down is also known as "voodoo economics," and I tried my darnedest to swat it in 1984. So, I have a history of fighting for the American people against the lizards. (I told you not to re-elect him, and I even said that you could write in my name! :)
Trickle down economics means everything for the rich, and nothing for the common people. It favors corporate welfare, which I oppose. And, the $700 billion bailout is where it went too far and ran off the rails as a system or a political ideology. The lizards have gone too far!
Do the American people have an upper limit, as to how much of this malarkey they will countenance? If so, I believe that the limit has been exceeded now. If the line wasn't already crossed before, it has been recently by the Wall Street bailout for the guilty. America has got one or more crime families controlling politics, and yet more crime families controlling the banks. Barack Obama and John McCain are no different in that both aspire to carry water for the corrupt cabal.
No year offers a more perfect example of how the two-party system coalesces to collude in the service of evil. The trillions of dollars in bailout money that is now bandied about is not going to come out of savings or surplus. Our nation has no surplus, and net savings is the same as the lint between your couch cushions. The money is going to be printed! That means, running a printing press in a way that dilutes the value of your own assets and savings! Once again, the bailout is a mugging, and the lizards have gone too far!
Furthermore, I believe that this is increasingly obvious and self-evident. In a normal election year, the talking heads can yammer around the ugly truths; but this year, the talking heads have been pressed into service to cry that the sky is falling. Fully one half of Americans have "no skin in the game" on Wall Street, and among homeowners, 2% have foreclosures. They are talking up a problem that 98% of homeowners don't have! If you are in that 50% of Americans, and that 98% of homeowners where the sky is not falling -- the crisis is a big hoo-hah. In fact, if you have been burned by a bank or by predatory finance, then you may be ready to cheer the collapsing silos!
Should we fear this crisis, or celebrate it? If it clears out the criminals, many Americans would accept short term pain for long term gain. It may be that the lizards and the crime families are becoming exposed, and that's a step towards a solution. And, the fear-mongering about Wall Street's crisis has turned into lots of discussion of economic populism. Again, that's a step in the right direction. Even Barack Obama, with or without sincerity, is denouncing trickle down economics. Hooray!
Will voodoo economics really go away? If it will, then we can at last breathe a sigh of relief. To undo voodoo economics is exactly what I was standing for, in the election of 1984!
So, how can ordinary Americans help to make things right? The correct answer is to turn away from the two-party system and to vote for an alternative like Ralph Nader, who opposed the Wall Street bailout and who supports a living wage and who has been in basically the same place as me: against trickle down and voodoo economics all along. This year, Nader successfully got on the ballot in 45 states, and you should trust that he has strength that the news media won't tell you. (In 2000, when George Bush and Al Gore had crowds of 1,000 and 2,000 people, Nader routinely drew crowds of 10,000 people who actually paid money to get into his rallies! The news media didn't tell you that then, and they won't tell you how well he's doing now.)
For another excellent step that average Americans can take, here is one more suggestion. Turn off the debate tonight. Who really cares about a lizard-versus-lizard debate? Instead, wait for Sunday night and then turn on C-Span. On Sunday, October 19, the alternative presidential candidates will debate from Columbia University in New York. That means, Ralph Nader will debate with Chuck Baldwin, Cynthia McKinney, and maybe Bob Barr. Tonight's debate is not "the last" debate, even if a news media person feeds you that lie. Wait till Sunday! And then, go to the polls and defeat the lizards. Vote Nader!
